Monday, March 15, 2010

Why does this not surprise me?

A curious little item on Reason.com about Norway where the Ministry of Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion (yes, I'd laugh if we did not have similar institutions here) nominated as the 2009 Role Model of the Year a certain Mahdi Hassan "for his tireless work on behalf on indigent local youths". Very admirable, indeed, though one suspects that getting jobs might help some of those local youths out of their indigence. Let that pass.

A far bigger problems is Mahdi Hassan's attitude to homosexuals. According to Norwegian journalist Rita Karlsen

But now comes the news that Hassan isn’t working hard to include everybody. As early as last summer, Hassan told the newspaper Arbeidets Rett that he wants a ban on homosexuality, based on the Koran: “Homosexuality is prohibited in the Koran, and I believe in my religion.”

Now Arbeidets Rett has asked Hassan if that is still his opinion, and it is. The head of the Norwegian LGBT Association, Karen Pinholt, doesn’t thinks this man is a good role model: “It appears as if the Ministry of Inclusion has forgotten to include gay people here.”

He is, of course, allowed to hold his opinions but to have him as a Role Model of the Year in a country that prides itself on its tolerance and open-mindedness seems a little odd. Surely, the Left would have protested as soon as news of this came out.

Not so but far otherwise:

But the head of the Socialist Left Party in Tynset, Stein Petter Løkken, feels that it is just fine that Hassan would like to see homosexuality forbidden: “There is freedom of speech in Norway and in the Tynset Socialist Left Party we consider it unproblematic that Mahdi is opposed in principle to homosexuality,” Løkken told Arbeidets Rett. “It is in accordance with his religion.”

One cannot help wondering whether Mr Løkken's attitude would be the same if it had been a Christian Minister who had expressed those views. Intyriguingly, Mahdi Hassan's views on the position of women is not being quoted. Can't help wondering what that might be.